With its eighth release, Cinematic Titanic switched from recording in studios to using live recordings for its home video releases. There were some trade-offs. On the negative side, it meant no more Shadowrama effect, with the riffers’ silhouettes visible on screen. Instead, Joel, Trace, Josh, Frank and Mary Jo’s faces are all visible on the… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic episode 8, ‘East Meets Watts’

“Head” came not to praise The Monkees, but to bury them. When I was a kid, I wanted to be in The Monkees more than anything. I remember that Nickelodeon had some contest where you could be “A Monkee for a day,” basically hanging out with the three Monkees who were talking at that point… Read More 100 films I haven’t seen: ‘Head’

I remember seeing an ad for a new Keanu Reeves movie and thinking it was the dumbest thing I had ever seen. Needless, over the top gunplay, a ridiculous sounding plot and the whole thing looked and sounded derivative of one of his past works. The film? 1999’s “The Matrix.” Everyone loved it and I was… Read More 100 films I haven’t seen: ‘John Wick’

This week my nerdiest claim to fame comes to an end. For more than a decade, one of my creations has appeared in Robert Kirkman’s best comic. No, not that one. I’m referring, of course, to “Invincible.” Back in 2003, I named the comic’s letter column: “PENvinciPALS.” This week “Invincible” comes to an end with… Read More PENvinciPALs: The nerdiest thing I’m proud of

One of my favorite podcasts is “How Did This Get Made,” where Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas (I spelled that right without checking!) and June Diane Raphael discuss bad movies. Generally, they rip them apart, but sometimes they express genuine admiration for these films. Such is the case with the “Fast & Furious” franchise, starting with… Read More 100 films I haven’t seen: ‘Fast Five’

“Would you like me to tell you the little story of Right Hand-Left Hand – the story of good and evil? H-A-T-E! It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-O-V-E. You see these fingers, dear hearts? These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul… Read More 100 films I haven’t seen: ‘The Night of the Hunter’

For its sixth release, Cinematic Titanic returned to the exploitation genre after its brief foray into more child-friendly fare. The Italian film “Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks” was also known as “Terror! Il castello delle donne maldedette,” “Terror Castle,” “The House of Freaks,” “The Monsters of Dr. Frankenstein, “Dr. Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks” and “Frankenstein’s Castle.”… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic episode 6, ‘Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks’

I’ll start this off with a warning that there are major spoilers for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” below. The film has been out for two weeks at this point, so I don’t feel bad about spoilers, but I will give a little space for those who want to avoid them. Judging by reactions online,… Read More The Last Jedi: the greatest teacher, failure is